rked in their difference of
costume from the Juhal as formerly, except in the extreme cleanliness and
careful plaiting of the white turban. My host, notwithstanding the
antiquity of his family and his studious character, is not one of the
initiated, he is but a Jahel, yet he probably serves his people best in
that capacity, as he is thereby enabled to hold government employments.

From his windows we could see on the south side of Ras Bayroot several
small vessels engaged in sponge-fishing; the crews of these are generally
Greeks from the islands: yesterday with the telescope we had a good view
of the mail-steamer arriving.

We went to take leave of the American friends, who showed us some
excellent specimens of English writing, and of drawing from the girls'
school.

Returning to the Druse friends, I visited Seleem, a brother of the Bek.
On hearing that we were proceeding to Mokhtarah, Naaman, (brother of Said
Bek Jonblat,) who has retired from worldly affairs, and become a devout
'Akal, requested one of my party to ask Said to send him some
orange-flower water. I have no doubt that this message ([Greek text])
covered some political meaning.

The house of Seleem was simplicity and neatness in the extreme, the only
ornamentation being that of rich robes, pistols, swords, and the silver
decorations of horses, suspended on pegs round the principal apartment;
all thoroughly Oriental of olden time.

The Christian secretary of the Bek attended us to _Cuf'r Natta_ on a fine
Jilfi mare, where he got for us a pedestrian guide to Dair el Kamar. A
very deep valley lay before us, into which we had to descend, lounging
leftwards, and then to mount the opposite hill, returning rightwards, to
an elevation higher than that of Cuf'r Natta. Down we went by zigzags
through groves of pine that were stirred gently on their tops by the
mountain breeze, and there was plenty of wild myrtle on the ground; we
frequently met with specimens of iron ore, and pink or yellow metallic
streaks in the rocks, to the river Suffar, being the upper part of the
river that is called Damoor upon the sea-coast. This is crossed by the
bridge _Jisr' el Kadi_, (so named from an ameer of the house of T'noohh,
surnamed the Kadi, or Judge, from his legal acquirements, and who erected
the bridge in old times,) near which the limestone rock of the water-bed
is worn into other channels by the occasional escapements of winter
torrents. There are mills adjoini